


Tells

by ReturnToZero



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Amami is dense, Blame Choaru for that tag, But also knows more than Shumai does, But jello, Ch 2. Tags, Everyone is Mad, Flash Fic, Fluff, Get it?, Hahahahhahahahhaa, Kokichi has a nervous quirk thing, Like jelly, M/M, Ouma is gay af, RIP me, Sassy Amami, Shuichi Saihara is a dumb dumb, Shuichi invades his space, Shuichi is SUMB AF, Shuichi is now Jell-o, Sumb, Tsumugi is mean, and gets results, he nervous boi, more shenanigans, saiouma, since literally nothing happens, sort of shippy but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-04-25 15:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14381226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReturnToZero/pseuds/ReturnToZero
Summary: Kokichi Ouma has no tells.At least, that’s what Shuichi thinks until he manages to catch one.Now if only he knew what itmeant.





	1. Hair Twirl

**Author's Note:**

  * For [megastarstrike](https://archiveofourown.org/users/megastarstrike/gifts).



> Hey there! Here's a quick little flash fic that I mostly wrote yesterday while sleep deprived and anxious. I tried to polish it a bit so hopefully it isn't too bad. 
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoy it!

**Kokichi Ouma has no tells.**

 

Ever since Shuichi had the dream of being a detective he was told he would have to learn how to observe people. His uncle helped him in this respect, trained him on how to spot a liar, to determine a Duchenne smile from a fake one. 

 

Shuichi kept these tips in his mind even when being with friends- he would observe and wait, noting if they cover their face or put distance, or if they add too much eye contact while trying to sell him a lie or whatnot. A keen eye was the only thing he would have during an investigation after all, so if he couldn’t determine an honest confession then he’d be losing out on a major part of an investigation. 

 

So when he met the Ultimate Supreme Leader, he knew that he would definitely be flexing his lie detector and observation skills. 

 

Kokichi Ouma was a liar, but an absolute  _ perfect liar _ . Shuichi would know, he spent countless hours trying to separate the truth from lies. And to be honest, his observations seem to be more confusing than helpful, Kokichi used his keen eye against him, dragging him one way then the opposite way. The Supreme Leader moves deliberately, everything is a calculated move for him. It makes their games fun since he really never knows what Kokichi has got in store for him. 

 

But it’s been almost a year that they’ve played this game and still, he has very little to show for it. Sure, he can sparse out more of Kokichi’s lies than a regular person can but he still has nothing to go off of! If Kokichi was a case, he’d still be stuck on the drawing board. It makes him wonder if the other has ever told the truth in his entire lifetime, given that lies seem to be easier for him than the truth.

 

**Kokichi Ouma has no tells.**

 

At least, that’s what Shuichi  _ thought _ until he managed to catch one.

 

It was a strange little thing, a seemingly innocuous action at first glance.

 

It had to come up at least four or five times before Shuichi caught it. It was always the same- 

 

Kokichi would be startled, most often by Amami or Gonta, or even Kaito! It always involved a guy getting up in his personal bubble, either accidentally or on purpose. (He is especially aware of this fact, since he knows he has never seen him react that way when Miu gets a bit too riled up and tries to hit on him.)

 

Now the reason why Shuichi knows it is a tell is because the one-time Kokichi caught  _ him _ staring, he immediately dropped his hand. He even made a conscious effort to not do it, and it wasn’t until he left a considerable distance before he started it up again. (Betcha didn’t think the Ultimate Detective would have binoculars, huh Kokichi?)

 

Shuichi decides that it was time to test this theory and see if it was indeed a tell that he needed to keep an eye out for.

 

The next day he waits until Kokichi is alone and distracted, carefully staying out of his peripherals and prepping himself mentally. He needed to execute his plan in three steps.

 

  1. Stay out of sight until they are only at arms distance.
  2. Surprise him suddenly and make him turn around.
  3. Force him either against a locker or wall and get in his personal space.



 

Luckily for him, he has managed to get through all of that. Now that he’s so close Shuichi has a chance to take even more details about the enigma, he hadn’t realized how petite the evil leader was. And this was considering that he wasn’t that tall either. 

 

Kokichi sends him a smile, clearly fake but he wears it well, “Oh my! Were you tryin to scruff me, detective? I swear I have nothing to do with the egging of Mr. Sakakura’s car!” 

 

Shuichi gave him an exasperated look. “Sakakura’s car..? Knowing you I wouldn’t be surprised if you had some involvement.”

 

Kokichi giggles, seemingly calm in his presence. His eyes glitter with sheer mischief as his smile only continues to grow. 

 

“Ahhh I swear swear swear I had nothing to do with that! You have no evidence so trying to bully me like this is police brutality!” 

 

Shuichi ignores the theatrics, he has to do something more if he hopes to actually elicit the tell. The detective isn’t really sure how far he should push it, given that his own comfort level will also be compromised if he wants to put some pressure on Kokichi. 

 

He sighs, there was no other choice though. As Kaede would tell him, he already this far so he had to commit!

 

He smiles as he begins to move forward, slowly but clearly making headway as Kokichi starts trying to back up. “Ah, I’m not the police though, so isn’t that comment a bit far-fetched?” 

 

Kokichi’s back finally meets the lockers, yet even as he is cornered his smile doesn’t break at all as his palms graze against the cool metal contraptions. Shuichi hasn’t ever invaded someone’s personal space like this, he almost felt bad. Then again, Kokichi does worse things on a whim so maybe he sort of deserved it. 

 

Shuichi is barely able to catch Kokichi’s smile drop just a fraction before it comes right back up to full blast. “Wowie, don’t tell me you’re frisking me cause you wanted an excuse to touch me! Oh my Mr. Detective, I already told you that we can’t have that kind of relationship.” 

 

It’s clearly a tease, but somehow Shuichi finds it funnier than usual. He tries to suppress his laugh, but some of it still escapes past his lips. Thankfully it comes out soft and low since he would hate to be so loud when they’ve only got a little distance between them. 

 

Shuichi looks down at Ouma, seeing those big violet eyes staring up at him. Honestly, he hated to admit this, but Ouma was sort of cute. He’s got such pretty eyes and a cute smile (when he wasn’t actively trying to intimidate people). It was a shame that his personality was so difficult, maybe if he was nicer he’d have tons of admirers. 

 

But he supposes Ouma wouldn’t want that, considering that his super-secret organization is supposedly super hard to be sworn into. Maybe Ouma was the kind of person who liked being chased, who liked seeing people go through hoops and bend over backward to prove themselves. It was confusing, and possibly not even true, as this was all speculation on his part.

 

Still, in a moment of weakness, he decides to play along with Ouma’s fake flirting-

 

“Welp, I guess you caught me red handed! A man can dream though.” 

 

He offers another playful smile, honestly enjoying their usual banter. But for some reason, Kokichi’s smile drops completely. For a moment he gets scared, Ouma is not nice when he’s pushed into discomfort. 

 

Shuichi is just about ready to pull back and apologize when suddenly Ouma’s tell finally reveals itself-

 

His left-hand raises, index finger easily catching into one of the flips that frame his face and he begins twirling the obsidian hair around his finger. He repeats the motion over and over again, his fingers falling into a fast rhythm. His pale finger just peeks out beneath the dark hair that coils around it, and it’s a striking contrast that Shuichi can appreciate. The tell is something he’s seen in movies a lot, but he would have never expected Ouma to pick that sort of thing up. 

 

Shuichi almost wants to yell in glee but he stays quiet, making sure not to stare too much. Ouma doesn't pay him much mind, too busy staring at the floor to even take his glee into account. 

 

“Well let me tell you, I’m not an easy lay like the used up slut over there. You’ll need to at least buy me dinner and a lifetime supply of Panta before you can kiss my feet.” 

 

Shuichi is satisfied, backing off and giving Kokichi some space. Still, he smiles, “I’ll have to remember that then.” 

 

Kokichi visibly relaxes, barely having enough time to get his usual smile up before Miu and Tsumugi come over to bother him. Shuichi slips away at the serendipitous distraction, his mind already trying to fit this new puzzle piece to the mysterious Supreme Leader.

 

**Kokichi Ouma has no tells.**

 

At least, that’s what Shuichi  _ thought _ until he managed to catch one.

  
Now if only he knew what it  _ meant _ .


	2. Coffee Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More tests are done and Shuichi doesn't like the results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to megastarstrike for being coolio.   
> (Also because I know you like jellyShumai so here's another short serving for youuu.)

It has taken countless hours of research to finally get a grasp on what the hair twirling meant. 

 

And by countless hours, he actually means two Google searches later. (While being constantly distracted by Kaito’s neverending memes and the third piano youtube playlist Kaede sent him in just one day.)

 

The information he digs up goes in two  _ very  _ different directions. One source says that this is a common behavior exhibited by people with low-self esteem, and the hair twirling is a nervous gesture that is an attempt at making them feel better. The other claims that it is a shy habit that is directly rooted in interest, specifically signaling an attraction to whoever is eliciting such a reaction. 

 

The information is befuddling. Kokichi doesn’t seem the type to be shy or unconfident, so it really makes Shuichi confused if the behavior was stemmed from the first category. But Shuichi also was certain that Kokichi wasn’t doing it as a flirting gesture, since it sprung up even around people like Korekiyo and Kaito, both of which Kokichi tend to argue with more often than not.

 

It makes him feel like he’s just running around in circle, over and over, all so he can figure this damned boy out. The only faithful conclusion he can draw at the moment is that more tests are needed.

 

***

 

“Ok, so let me get this straight.” Rantaro begins, a hand on his chin as he tries to make sense of the madness. 

 

“You want me to go up to Ouma, get all touchy-feely and in his grill, and then pretend like it’s no biggie?” 

 

“Yes.” Shuichi is relieved that Rantaro hadn’t just tuned him out during his tangent on figuring out the mysterious Supreme Leader. Most of their classmates do, since he is sort of insufferable. Shuichi doesn’t blame them, but it gets hard for him to do any kind of observations when he has no willing participants. 

 

“I really don’t get why you want me to do this-”

 

“I’m trying to monitor and distinguish-” 

 

Immediately, Rantaro’s hands fly up in defense, silently gesturing for him to stop. “No, I don’t really care why. The only thing I ask in return is that you get me more of those Ube Mochi cookies by that bakery you know I like.” 

 

Honestly, it was hilarious how addicted Rantaro was to those Ube cookies. He couldn’t blame him, and Rantaro’s addiction was easily exploitable. Shuichi is almost certain everyone in class has used his addiction on many occasions. (It just helps that he happens to be the closest to the bakery, and thus is most familiar with Rantaro’s addiction.)

 

Shuichi smiles, “Of course! I’ll make sure to bring you two bags full if it means you’ll do your best.” 

 

“Oh, and one more thing, even if Kokichi gets a bit weird, just keep pestering him. I need to be able to observe his reaction for a fair amount of time.” It’s a gentle reminder, but he knows that it may be hard for Rantaro to keep to that, seeing as how unpredictable the local gremlin is. 

 

Rantaro makes a sour face. “I’ll try.” 

 

And so, the new plan was set into motion.

 

(The Ultimate Adventurer is a total wuss though, so Shuichi is forced to wait a couple of days before he can actually carry out the plan.)

 

***

 

The fateful day comes. 

 

Rantaro has been paid in full and now Shuichi waits from across the cafeteria, stationed so he can observe without looking too suspicious. He idly drowns his coffee cake with a carton of milk, provided by the prestigious school. Thankfully the coffee cake was one of the better options they offered with the school meal plan, so at least if anything went bad he still had some yummy bread to cheer him up. 

 

Rantaro does his job, smiling and trying to be nonchalant about invading Kokichi’s space. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth though, seeing Kokichi twirl his hair even before Rantaro has come into his space. He shoves a piece of the coffee cake and continues observing.

 

Rantaro leans in at it only seems to make Kokichi make the flick of his wrist faster. It’s clear that he is nervous, but the underlying cause is what bothers Shuichi.  _ Was it him simply trying to calm himself? Or did it mean something more?  _

 

Finally, he’s pulled out of his thoughts when he hears a small giggle beside him. 

 

He turns to find Tsumugi also observing the scene before him. She seems very pleased at the sight and offers a smile to him.

 

“Wow, I had no idea that Rantaro had a thing for Kokichi!” She lightly comments, her voice soft that only he hears it in the rowdy cafeteria. 

 

“Huh? What gives you that idea?” He grinds out, not liking how she has jumped to conclusions.

 

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? He’s pulling a kabedon on Kokichi, and Kokichi seems to be liking it.” Strangely enough, her grin gets a bit wide. And the expression she is wearing is odd, fanatical almost. 

 

Shuichi can’t place why this is bothering him so much. Then again, he’s aware of what a kabedon is. It’s common in the romance genre and tends to come up in movies and television frequently.  _ Was that all this was? Kokichi getting the wrong idea because he thinks Rantaro was flirting?  _

 

“No, Rantaro isn’t into Kokichi.” He declares more to himself than her. He feels a twitch in his fingers, a burning in his veins that makes him ball up his hands into tight fists. 

 

“Awww, wouldn’t they make a cute couple? My fujoshi heart can barely handle it.” 

 

“No, _they_ **_wouldn't_**. Stop talking about them like they’re characters for you to pair off.” 

 

Tsumugi turns to him with an astonished face. It quickly morphs into comprehension before she sighs, “Right, right. They’re real people, I get it. A girl can dream though, right?” 

 

She giggles, her eyes gleaming like a predator that has trapped their prey. “Unless you have your own ideas about who Kokichi should be interested in?”

 

Something about her question fills him with something akin to shame. It’s utterly confusing though, why should he be ashamed? Sure he isn’t too keen on Rantaro getting cozy with Kokichi, but that’s simply because he knows Rantaro doesn’t like Kokichi like that. It wouldn’t be a fulfilling relationship for either if them.

 

Still, even with the rationale laid out,  _ he still feels the shame and can’t stop the tension in his veins telling him to get Rantaro away from Kokichi.  _

 

This was all so utterly confounding. 

 

“Don’t you have better things to do? Like being a plain weeb over with Miu?” He shoves more coffee cake into his mouth, barely able to even enjoy the damn bread. 

 

“Of course! Being plainly plain is my specialty after all.” Tsumugi simply waves and leaves him alone. Shuichi doesn’t watch her go, too busy trying to calm his urge to punch something.

 

He looks up and finds Rantaro jogging back to him with pursed expression. 

 

“Hey, Kokichi told me to tell you to stop doing the cornering thing on him.” 

 

Shuichi blinks once, then twice.

 

“What? You were supposed to keep this whole thing a secret!” 

 

Rantaro sighs, scratching the back of his head as his brows furrow. “Yeah, I know! He just… noticed that something was up and ended up pestering it out of me.” 

 

Shuichi feels like smacking his head on the table. The detective scoffs, dumping the rest of his milk on the remaining bread, watching it get soaked up and soggy in the liquid. 

 

“Fine. Whatever. Just leave me alone, damn it.” Rantaro frowns at his tone. 

 

“Sheesh, fine  _ detective _ . Let me know when you’re done being a baby about all this.” 

 

Rantaro leaves in a pissy mood and it only worsens his current mood. He groans and shoves aside the tray with his food, resting his head on his folded arms. 

 

_ At least he got to eat most of his coffee cake. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked it please leave a comment and kudos!
> 
> Also feel free to send me prompts to letmeshipinpeace at tumblr, it might take me a bit to get to them but I'll do my best!

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments really brighten my day and bolster my confidence in writing so feel free to leave some if you liked this little blurb!
> 
> I'm also still working on another anon prompt and kissing fic so keep your eyes peeled for those. And if you wanna send in your own prompt feel free to check out the ones on my tumblr- @[letmeshipinpeace](http://letmeshipinpeace.tumblr.com/post/169056464501/oumasai-drabble-prompt-list). (I'll also be updating that prompt list probably later today so that there are even more prompts for y'all to give me >w<)
> 
> Thanks again for reading and until next time!


End file.
